Bean, 66, a prominent gay rights activist and major Democratic Party fundraiser, was arrested at his home in Southwest Portland and booked into the Multnomah County Detention Center at 10:12 a.m.

The indictment charges Bean with two counts of third-degree sodomy, a felony, and one count of third-degree sex abuse, a misdemeanor, police said.

[…]

Bean has been one of the state’s biggest Democratic donors and an influential figure in gay rights circles in the state. He helped found two major national political groups, the Human Rights Campaign and the Gay and Lesbian Victory Fund, and has been a major contributor for several Democratic presidential candidates, including Barack Obama. He’s also a close friend of former Gov. Barbara Roberts.

So what makes the difference for a man found all over the Web next to Barack and Michelle Obama, Nancy Pelosi, Al Gore, etc., a friend of noted Democratic pols from coast-to-coast, and who fits every one of those points, with merely a change in names and identifying allegiances. Yet Bean’s story is pretty much isolated to the Pacific Northwest—every major media source is totally silent.